Cori Coleman was as automatic from beyond the arc as any player in the city last year, helping Murry Bergtraum to a 12th straight PSAL city title in a breakout campaign. So far this season has been a bit of a struggle, though.
“I’ve been a little shaky, I’ve been off lately,” Coleman said. “I haven’t been in my rhythm. But it’s starting to come back gradually in practice.”
She didn’t have her best game Sunday against St. Peter’s. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t have the confidence to take one of the biggest shots of her career.
With Bergtraum down three and just 3.9 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Coleman took the inbounds pass, drove down the middle of the court and pulled up from the top of the key. The shot hit nothing but net, sending the game to overtime, where Bergtraum would win 81-78 at the Francis Lewis HoopsQueens girls basketball event Sunday in Fresh Meadows.
“She came through,” Lady Blazers senior guard Ashley Gomez said. “That’s what she does. She’s a big-time player and I’m glad she was able to show it to everybody. … Every time we need her she comes through. We know we can always count on her even when she’s having a bad day.”
Gomez told her teammates when they got back to the bench that they had to go and win after a shot like that. St. Peter’s (3-1) definitely felt the effects.
“When she made that we just all looked devastated,” Eagles senior guard Jamie O’Hare said. “It was a hard thing to handle at that point. We thought we were done and that shot was not going in at all.”
Bergtraum senior forward Shaniqua Reese said she knew it was going to fall because Coleman always makes 3s like that in practice. Coleman, herself, was unsure. Though it felt right coming off her fingertips.
“It felt really good,” the Queens native said. “[I was thinking], keep it up, follow through. Oh my gosh.”
Bergtaum coach Ed Grezinsky said he was confident with the ball in her hands. It was a play designed for her.
“This was her best game,” he said. “She really stepped up today. She’s a money player.”
The lone returning starter from last year’s championship team, Coleman has felt the pressure and heard the naysayers.
“Against Kennedy [on Wesnesday] everyone was thinking, OK this is the end of Bergtraum,” she said. “They almost lost to Kennedy. They’re about to get blown out in the first quarter. Even at the end of the game, people were thinking it’s still the end of Bergtraum. This isn’t the same Bergtraum. But this game shows everyone we’re still the same Bergtraum. If we want to be on top, we have to play and we have to finish.”
No one did that better than her Sunday.